David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away)Carriageworks 10:00 am
Adults from $39.90, kids 4-12 $29.90
The late, great David Hockney (July 9, 1937 – June 11, 2026) passed away earlier this year, but his art is very much alive. You might know the British artist for his sun-drenched Los Angeles swimming pools, including A Bigger Splash (1967), or Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) (1972), which fetched a whopping $90.3 million at auction in 2018. Or, perhaps you’ve seen his portrait of pop star Harry Styles that he painted in just two days, or his vibrant digital landscapes that he created on an iPad. Or maybe you just dig the fact that Hockney wore yellow Crocs when he met King Charles.
Now, Sydneysiders can step right into Hockney’s colourful, endlessly curious world as his acclaimed immersive experience, David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away), makes its Australian debut at Carriageworks.
Running until January 24, 2027, this spectacular 360-degree production transforms the vast Bay 17 into a kaleidoscope of colour, movement, sound and light. Created by London’s Lightroom, the experience has captivated audiences from Seoul to Singapore since premiering in London in 2023.
Bigger & Closer takes you inside Hockney’s artistic imagination, tracing six decades of creative experimentation. Narrated by Hockney himself and accompanied by an original score by composer Nico Muhly, it reveals the stories, ideas and happy accidents behind his extraordinary body of work.
Journey through the San Gabriel Mountains, cruise along California’s Mulholland Drive and step inside an opera house, where animated recreations bring Hockney’s theatrical stage designs to life. You’ll discover his pioneering photographic collages, watch vibrant landscapes unfurl across giant screens and find out why he believed only paint could truly capture the sheer vastness of the Grand Canyon.
David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away) runs at Carriageworks from October 22, 2026, to January 24, 2027. Find out more and book tickets here.
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